Vitebsk /

Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk (Belarusian: Ві́цебск, [ˈvʲitsʲepsk]; Russian: Ви́тебск, IPA: [ˈvʲitʲɪpsk]), is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city. It is served by Vitebsk Vostochny Airport and Vitebsk air base. Vitebsk developed from a river harbor where the Vitba River (Віцьба, from which it derives its name) flows into the larger Dvina, which is spanned in the city by the Kirov Bridge. Its official founding year is 947 (or perhaps 974, or 914), based on an anachronistic legend that it was founded by Olga of Kiev, but the first mention in historical record is in 1021, when Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev gave it to Bryachislav Ezyaslavovitch, Duke of Polotsk. In the 12th and 13th centuries Vitebsk was the seat of a minor principality which thrived at the crossroads of the river routes among the Baltic, Black, and Mediterranean seas. In 1320 the city was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania; in 1569 it became a part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.